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In a nod to transparency, Obama's transition team is disclosing some meetings with outside organizations.
AP Photo

CHICAGO — In a nod to transparency, Barack Obama's transition team is disclosing some of their meetings with outside groups and posting policy documents from the organizations online.

Billed as the "Seat at the Table" initiative, Obama aides have already placed memos from such groups as La Raza, the ACLU and the Business Roundtable on a new page on their website. In blog fashion, readers are invited to leave comments about the proposals.

The move draws a contrast with the Bush administration, and especially Vice President Dick Cheney, whose office went to lengths to keep White House meetings between Cheney and oil companies secret.

In a memo sent to staffers and made public Friday, transition co-chair John Podesta indicated that they would make public "the dates and organizations represented at official meetings in the Transition headquarters or agency offices."

The transition defines "official meetings" "for both purposes of disclosing both the session and the policy documents shared at it" as "a meeting with outside organizations or representatives of those organizations to which three or more outside participants attend."

Asked why three or more individuals had to attend to clear the disclosure threshold, transition spokesman Nick Shapiro downplayed the standard and said they would err on the side of transparency.

"The transition staff has been instructed that the three-person rule is merely a guide and that, whenever possible, information disclosed at all meetings, regardless of the number of attendees, should be publicly disclosed," Shapiro said. "No transition has ever attempted to implement such a disclosure requirement, and should it become clear that outside groups are trying to circumvent the policy, refinements will be made to it."

Per Podesta's memo, organizations will be told before their meetings that any documents provided will be made public.

Director of Public Liaison and Intergovernmental Affairs Michael Strautmanis explained the intent behind the policy in a YouTube video posted on the Transition website, saying "Transparency is the process that leads to real change, and transparency is the process by which people will have confidence that things really will be different."

Hey, jakebobo! You have 199 views and no friends. Can you figure that out? Perhaps you could find a new complaint beyond Ayers and Wright? Oops, sorry. I overlooked the "take away our cars" offering. Now, how do you think he's going to do that? And where will he put them all when he takes them away? Oh, this is pointless. Get an education and come back later.

jakebobo: your conception was a major boo-boo. How ignorant can you be and how shameless you are to have your ignorance on full display here on this public forum. People like you reassert my belief that the human gene pool needs some major "cleaning up." Otherwise, decades from now, the seemingly absurdity of the movie "Idiocracy" will become reality. Truly frightening.